Costumes
by Voices in the Darkness
Summary: See what crazy idea gets Shinji and Asuka together this time. Cutesy WAFF.


Authors Notes:  
  
This isn't my first attempt at a fanfic. I've written several before,   
  
under a different name…but at least 6 years ago. I read over them   
  
and chance stumbled onto some reviews) and realized they were pure shit.   
  
But hey, what can you expect from an author who was younger than her   
  
youngest characters? So now I'm back. Hopefully this will be better. (I'm a published writer now!)  
  
I set up a hotmail account just for feedback…I would much appreciate it.  
  
Thanks to VashX010101 (aka Anime Pat) for pre-reading advice. (Sorry, but Krazy Krunky Kensuke Krunch isn't a title option!)  
  
Also thanks to Axel for being inspiration to me. (and being willing to read all my fanfics!)  
  
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Costumes  
  
  
  
  
  
"Shinji!" A soft voice calls out through the darkness. "Shinji, don't you like me?"   
  
Another voice fills his mind, "Do you want to become one with me?"  
  
"To be of one mind…"  
  
He envisioned Misato…no it was Asuka…or, Rei? They were all   
  
coming toward him…yet only one was coming. The images kept   
  
switching. They were all naked…they all wanted him.  
  
***  
  
Shinji awoke with a start. What was I dreaming about? His thoughts were   
  
interrupted by a pillow slamming into his face.  
  
"What are you, stupid?" An angry red-head was in his room, no doubt.   
  
"You're already awake and just sitting here? I'm hungry!"  
  
Shinji pushed the new pillow away and rolled over.  
  
"What about breakfast!"  
  
"I'm sure Misato will cook."  
  
"And I'm sure you'll be force fed the leftovers if she does!"  
  
"So, what would you like to eat?"  
  
  
  
***  
  
(Cue cutesy anime eating music!)  
  
Upon finishing her first beer...  
  
"Sho…" Misato began, mouth full of food. "I ksnow you were   
  
dishappointed a few weeks agsho." She swallowed and continued,   
  
"You know, when you couldn't go on your class trip. And I told you  
  
your report cards were crap. You haven't been studying!"  
  
"I do so study," Asuka protested. "But it's stupid. I already graduated   
  
from college. The only reason I have bad grades is because of the dumb kanji!"   
  
"So study the kanji…" Shinji wished he hadn't spoken the second the words left his mouth.  
  
"I don't need advice from you, Third Child! Just because your synch ratio is higher it   
  
doesn't give you the right to tell me what to do."  
  
"Asuka, enough." Misato had a serious look on her face. "Piloting EVA isn't a competition.   
  
Besides, Asuka, Shinji is right. If you already know how to do all the work, why don't you   
  
focus your studies on learning to read the questions."  
  
'Why does she always take his side?' Asuka stood and cleared her plate. "I'm finished."  
  
Shinji watched her slam the door to the apartment as she left for school.  
  
***  
  
"Oh, wow!"  
  
"Cool"  
  
Asuka could hear the exclaimations of random students in the crowd that was gathering  
  
at the entrance to the school. "What's going on? Let me through!" She pushed over   
  
some poor kid, knocking his schoolbag out of his hands. A huge sign hung on the door.  
  
Join our first annual Cosplay!   
  
This Friday night....  
  
*Dress as your favorite anime character  
  
*Compete against fellow students  
  
*Winner is named Cosplay Queen  
  
(Sign up below)  
  
"That could be cool...And I could show that stupid Shinji that I am the best!"  
  
Asuka confidently wrote her name on the sign up list.   
  
"Hey, Asuka!" The red-head turned and saw Hikari running to her.  
  
"Hikari...look at this!"  
  
The brunette carefully read the ad. "Aww, that's not going to be fun...There's   
  
no one I could dress up as."  
  
"I don't know, I think you could go as Vampire Princess Miyu?"  
  
"Asuka, are you crazy! I'm not that pretty..."  
  
"Just think....what would Toji do if he saw you dressed like that?"  
  
Hikari blushed, but Asuka had convinced her. She penned her name on the sign-up sheet.  
  
"Who will you go as?"  
  
"I, Soryu Asuka Langley, will go as a Goddess of course!"  
  
Hikari sweatdropped.  
  
"It is only suiting..."  
  
"Um...okay, Asuka? Which one?"  
  
"Which one? Ceres!"  
  
"But your hair...isn't blue."  
  
"They make temporary dye and wigs for a reason."  
  
"O..Okay..."  
  
***  
  
"It just seems odd to me the school is holding a Cosplay..." Misato sighed and put down  
  
her coffee mug.  
  
"The school just wants them to act like kids." Ritsuko continued typing as she spoke.  
  
"While they still can," she whispered.  
  
"Do you remember the one in college?"  
  
"Misato...how could I forget. You showed up drunk, ripped your costume, and then started  
  
making out with Kaji in the car ride home."  
  
*Sweatdrop* "Oh....yeah...heh...heh."  
  
***  
  
"Hey, baka Shinji!" Asuka stood in his doorway. "Hey, Shinji!" Her face contorted into it's   
  
usual glare. "Dummkopf!"   
  
Shinji looked up from his SDAT when the door slammed. Apparently, Asuka had shut it so hard it slid   
  
half way open.  
  
Shinji walked cautiously to Asuka's room. "What did you wa---AHHH!!!! Your hair....what did you do   
  
to your hair?!"  
  
"You like it?" Asuka's hair was now a brilliant shade of blue...darker than Rei's. It hung down her back  
  
and presented a shocking change.  
  
"It's...um...different."  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?"  
  
"I...uhh...I mean...umm...why?"  
  
"Why!? Shinji, you're such a boy! It's a wig, idiot. See?" She pulled some pins out of it and the wig   
  
slid off to reveal her normal, but slightly messy, red hair. "It's for the Cosplay!"  
  
"Well now that I know the reason....it looked really good, Asuka."  
  
"Why, thank you, Shinji. Just wait until Friday. You're looking at the next Cosplay Queen!"  
  
Asuka's look of triumph quickly changed to a look of annoyance. "Why are you still   
  
standing there?"  
  
"Sorry..."  
  
"You're always apologizing!"  
  
"Sorry..."  
  
"Grr...Well, I guess it's just your way. You're coming to the competition aren't you?"  
  
"Umm...I'm kinda...err...I'm..."  
  
"What, the amazing Third Child is too good to come see me?"  
  
"No, it isn't that! It's just, that, um..."  
  
"Spit it out already!"  
  
"I'm kind of a...umm...judge."  
  
"A WHAT!?"  
  
"They made me do it!"  
  
"Who made you a judge?"  
  
"Well, since guys can't compete, they had a sign up sheet for us to be judges. Toji and   
  
Kensuke signed up and wrote my name too."  
  
"How many judges are there?"  
  
"Umm...err..."  
  
"Don't tell me..."  
  
"Three.."  
  
"GODDAMMIT!" Asuka screamed. "Get out of here!"  
  
"Yes..." Shinji hurried back to his room.  
  
***  
  
"Shinji?"  
  
"Mrumph..." *snort*  
  
"Shinji, wake up!"  
  
"Huh? What?"  
  
"Breakfast is ready." Shinji stared at Asuka, wondering why her tone was so polite.   
  
"Did Misato cook again?"  
  
"Nope. I did."  
  
Shinji cocked his head in comic disbelief. "You cook?"  
  
"Of course I cook, baka. Breakfast is going to be a bit different today. I haven't cooked  
  
Japanese style before, so I'm afraid it's going to have a European flair. Hope that's  
  
alright?"  
  
"Yeah...sure." Shinji stood up and walked to the kitchen.  
  
(Cue cutesy anime eating music!)  
  
"Hey, Asuka, not bad!"  
  
"Thanks, Shinji."  
  
*Beer slams against table* "Wooooooooo! No offense, Asuka, but curry ramen is more  
  
my style."  
  
Asuka and Shinji exchanged glances. Misato wouldn't know good food if it jumped off  
  
the plate and said, 'Hey, Misato. I'm good food."  
  
  
  
***  
  
Shinji was waiting with Toji in line at the school store. The food was almost as bad  
  
as Misato's cooking, but Shinji didn't bring anything to eat.  
  
"Hey, boys!!"   
  
"Oh great, the demon herself...Shinji, you might want to watch out.   
  
Shinji turned and saw Asuka and Hikari walking up to them.   
  
"Toji..." Hikari cheeks turned light pink. "I packed you a lunch."  
  
"Oh wow, awesome! Thanks, Class Rep!"  
  
"I made you one too, Shinji."   
  
"Asuka?"  
  
Toji grabbed the lunch out of Asuka's hands. "You may want to check this for  
  
cyanide, Shinji!"  
  
"That's for Shinji," Asuka proclaimed, grabbing the lunch out of Toji's grips.  
  
"Thanks..." Shinji took the lunch and the four of them walked outside to eat.  
  
After they finished, Asuka and Hikari walked off together, gossiping and laughing.  
  
"You may want to watch out, Shinji..."  
  
"Why do you say that?"  
  
"It's obvious that Asuka is being nice to you so you'll vote for her tomorrow.   
  
I'm willing to bet that come Saturday, she'll be back to her normal self."  
  
"Yeah...I thought she was acting odd. I didn't even think about that."  
  
"Come to think of it, Shinji, all ten girls in the Cosplay have been acting  
  
rather nice to me. Kensuke mentioned it too. They should have events like this  
  
more often! We're becoming the most popular boys in school!"  
  
"I haven't noticed...no one's acted differently towards me but Asuka."  
  
"I think Asuka probably had something to do with that..."  
  
Sure enough...  
  
"If any one of you girls even thinks about sucking up to my Shinji!!"  
  
"Your Shinji...?"  
  
"Grr...you know what I mean. If anyone even thinks about trying to  
  
sweet talk him into voting for you....you will have a very angry   
  
woman to deal with. Class dissmissed."  
  
Eight rather frightened girls filed out of the locker room.  
  
"Don't you think you're being a bit rash, Asuka?"  
  
"Not at all."  
  
"Tell me something. Are you trying to prevent them from talking to   
  
Shinji because you don't want him to vote for them...or because   
  
you'll be jealous?"  
  
"Eee! Hikari! Of course it's because I don't want him to vote for them...  
  
for...you know...biased reasons. He has to choose based on best costume...  
  
yeah that's it!"  
  
"So you don't have a thing for Shinji then?"  
  
"That baka! No way! You're crazy, Hikari."  
  
***  
  
"Guys? I'm going out with Kaji. I'll see you at the Cosplay tomorrow."  
  
Shinji turned a little red, remembering how *bored* Asuka got last time  
  
Misato left for the night.  
  
"Have a good time! Give Kaji a kiss for me!"  
  
"Why you little....it's nothing like that! This is...um...business!"  
  
Asuka smirked as Misato left the apartment.  
  
"So Shinji....I'm bored."  
  
"Not again!"  
  
"I'm just kidding, God you think all I want to do is kiss you?"  
  
"Well umm...I....err"  
  
"You're so easy to frustrate."  
  
"Sor...wait...you hate when I apologize."  
  
"So, Shinji can learn after all!"  
  
"What do you want to do?"  
  
"Umm...why don't we play that new video game you bought? Is it two players?"  
  
"Yeah...I didn't know you liked video games, Asuka."  
  
"It's...it's kind of what I do when I get really sad."  
  
Shinji glanced over at Asuka. She never opened up like this.  
  
"Not that I'm sad now! It's just after...my mom...I didn't really have much else  
  
to do. I threw myself into school. Then when I graduated college, there was   
  
nothing left. I sat around at my new mother's house playing video games all day.  
  
When I wasn't training to be a pilot I mean."  
  
"New mother?"  
  
"Yeah...my mom..she...Oh why am I telling all this to you!? Let's just play the video  
  
game. I bet you can't beat me!"  
  
"Do you have to turn everything into a competition?"  
  
"Of course!"  
  
'Maybe it's her way of dealing with whatever happened to her mom...' Shinji snapped   
  
back to reality when the bleeping of the game told him he just died.  
  
"Come on, Shinji! I want to beat you when you're trying!"  
  
Shinji and Asuka played the fighting game for almost an hour. "Asuka? Would you   
  
mind if I read a little instead?"  
  
"Giving up, Third Child?"  
  
"If you say so."  
  
Shinji pulled out one of his school books while Asuka continued playing the game.  
  
'She can be so nice when she tries. I've actually had a pleasant evening. It's a shame  
  
she'll change after tomorrow night.'  
  
"I'm going to bed. Goodnight Shinji."  
  
Asuka treaded to her room. Even though she was tired, she couldn't fall asleep.  
  
She couldn't stop thinking about Shinji. 'I know I'm just being nice because of the  
  
Cosplay...but it's almost easier to be nice to him than to shut him out. What am I  
  
saying! I don't need anyone! I can stand on my own two feet. I learned that a long  
  
time ago. Still...I haven't opened up to anyone about my mom before. I mean...I know  
  
I didn't tell him much. But it's more than I've ever told anyone. It was kind of...nice. I guess.  
  
Shinji was polite. He didn't make me talk. He seemed to understand that it was hard for me.  
  
Listen to me! Actually thinking Shinji can understand the way another human works. Maybe  
  
I'm the one who doesn't understand....oh Asuka, you're just being silly.'  
  
***  
  
"Woah, this is so cool!" Kensuke had his video camera plastered to his face  
  
and was running around backstage filming the girls getting their makeup done.  
  
"HEY! Get out of here! You can't see us until the competition!" Asuka looked  
  
pissed off.  
  
"I'm just trying to get as much out of the process as I can...that way, I can be fair!"  
  
"If you don't get out of here, I'll crush your video camera!"  
  
Kensuke ducked out into the main auditorium.   
  
--An hour later--  
  
The girls filed onto stage, one by one. There were ten contestants. Two of them   
  
looked spetacular. One was dressed in a short white robe with red ties. Her hair  
  
was swept up in an elaborate fashion with a red rope. A braid fell down her front   
  
wrapped in the rope. The announcer called her to come forward. "The next contestant  
  
is Hikari Horaki dressed as Vampire Princess Miyu!" As the announcer listed her stats  
  
Kensuke, Toji, and Shinji sat dumbfounded.  
  
"That's the class rep?" Toji couldn't believe how beautiful she looked. She had even put  
  
on make-up so her freckles had disappeared. Of course, he had always thought her  
  
freckles were cute.  
  
"Wow, she's hot!" Kensuke zoomed in on her with his camera.   
  
"Don't look at her like that!" Toji smacked him on the head. "It's...er...disrespectful!"  
  
Hikari smiled at the cheering audience (and drooling judges) and moved to the side of  
  
the stage.   
  
"Our final contestant is Asuka Langley Soryu as Ceres from Ayashi no Ceres!"  
  
Shinji's jaw dropped. Her blue hair flowed as she stood proudly in the center of the stage.  
  
She wore brown contacts to match Ceres' eyes. Painted on her forehead in an   
  
impossibly bright color was the celestial symbol. She didn't dress as Ceres in her true form,  
  
but the Ceres that Aya transformed into. She wore a red robe with gold patterns and gold   
  
earrings that represented Ceres' mana. She looked exactly like the Goddess. No one could even  
  
tell it was Asuka.   
  
"Is that...the devil?"   
  
"Toji, cut it out!" Shinji couldn't take his eyes off her. He had planned on not voting for her  
  
because she had acted differently just so he would, but there was no mistaking that she was  
  
the best. If he didn't vote for her it wouldn't be fair.  
  
"So, Shinji, who are you voting for?"  
  
"I'm voting for the best one up there..."  
  
"You're voting for Hikari too?"  
  
"No, Toji. I'm voting for Asuka. She looks amazing!"  
  
Toji and Shinji both realized that Kensuke had to make the final vote.  
  
"Kensuke if you vote for Asuka I'll kill you!"  
  
"If you vote for Hikari, Asuka will kill you...after she's done with me!"  
  
Kensuke started sweating. He even put his camera down. "I'm going to vote for...  
  
I'm not going to tell you! You'll have to wait and see when the winner is announced!"  
  
Toji and Shinji both growled but relaxed in their seats. They all scribbled who they thought   
  
should win on a piece of paper and gave it to the announcer.  
  
"Okay, we have the judge's decision! One vote goes to Hikari!" Hikari stepped forward,  
  
beaming. "The second vote goes to...Asuka!" Asuka literally glided to a stop next to   
  
Hikari. "And the winner is going to be...." He opened Kensuke's slip of paper. "Hikari as   
  
Vampire Princess Miyu!!" Asuka's eyes opened wide, and she looked like she was about  
  
to cry. She was happy for her friend, but upset about losing. Even so, she didn't want to  
  
ruin Hikari's triumph and started applauding and gave her a hug.   
  
"Congratulations," she whispered in Hikari's ear.  
  
"I'm sorry you lost."  
  
"Don't be. I told you you'd make a good Vampire Princess Miyu! Look, even Toji can't   
  
keep his eyes off you."  
  
Hikari's smile widened. "All thanks to you, Asuka!"  
  
--After the show--  
  
"Shinji..."  
  
'Uh oh,' he thought. 'Here comes the monster's wrath.'  
  
"I voted for you, Asuka. The deciding vote came from Kensuke, not me!  
  
Please don't kill me."  
  
"I'm not going to kill you, Shinji. I just wanted to know if you voted for me  
  
because of my costume, or because I treated you so nicely."  
  
"To be honest...I wasn't going to vote for you. I thought it wouldn't be fair  
  
to throw my vote to you when you had changed your personality after you found out  
  
I was a judge. But when I saw you up there, you looked so beautiful, and so much like  
  
her...I had to vote for you."  
  
"So you voted for me...without bias?"  
  
"Yeah...I did."  
  
Asuka suddenly kissed him.  
  
"Whaa...what? What was that for?"  
  
"To thank you."  
  
"You mean you aren't going to kill me?"  
  
"No. I'm glad Hikari won. It's probably good for her to be in the spotlight for once,  
  
you know having to take care of her sister's and all. Plus she and Toji are going  
  
to go out tonight. Since he realized she wasn't just a girl anymore." Asuka grinned.  
  
"Shinji...I was thinking."  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"When I found out you were a judge, I started treating you like you were my friend.   
  
But I only did it so you would vote for me. That was unfair. I'm sorry."  
  
"You're apologizing?"  
  
"Just listen, baka. I shouldn't have changed for that reason, but I'm glad I did it.  
  
That was the first time I'd ever opened up...to anybody. It felt, I dunno. Good, I guess.  
  
I realized that I've been taking out anger I feel towards my past on everyone around me.  
  
Instead of talking about it, I've been trying to push it away. But that's just been hurting  
  
me. I think I like being your friend, Shinji. It sure is easier than yelling at you every few  
  
minutes."  
  
Shinji laughed. "I'm glad, Asuka. Just...you don't have to stop calling my baka or teasing me.  
  
I kind of...like it."  
  
"Why would you like that dummkopf!?"  
  
"Because I know I have to mean something to you to make you want to go out of your way to   
  
get my attention. I know it's weird."  
  
"You are weird, Shinji. But that's what I like about you."  
  
She looked up at Shinji and the street lights reflected in her normal blue eyes.  
  
"Let's go home." Asuka folded her costume over one arm and gently placed her free hand in his.  
  
Together, the walked toward the apartment and into a new relationship. 


End file.
